Dave and Joan Rogers establish $1million Endowment Fund to Essential Care for Children

Dave and Joan Rogers establish $1million Endowment Fund to Support Sick Children cared for by The Center for Hospice & Palliative Care’s Essential Care for Children Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cheektowaga, NY, July 12, 2018

The Hospice Foundation of Western New York is the beneficiary of a $1 million gift from the family of Dave and Joan Rogers. The gift will be used to establish an endowment fund benefiting The Center for Hospice & Palliative Care’s Essential Care for Children program. Essential Care for Children is a home-based palliative care program that manages symptoms and helps coordinate medical services, as well as providing psycho-social and spiritual support to improve the quality of life of seriously ill children and their families. The Essential Care staff currently cares for nearly 80 patients a day in homes across Western New York.

Essential Care nurses, social workers, and therapists bridge the gap between what occurs in the medical setting and what happens when the child is at home. They arrange home visits, facilitate communication with and between providers, advocate for both patients and caregivers, follow up with the child’s school, attend medical appointments, provide assistance with advanced care planning, help obtain equipment for the home, and encourage families as they cope with their child’s illness.

Mr. & Mrs. Rogers were inspired by the expression of gratitude from Kelly Mischel, mother of Essential Care perinatal patient, Haileigh Jade regarding their family’s experience with Essential Care: “They listened to concerns, our wants and wishes for her birth, life and death so we were able to make the most of her time with us. The nurses had so much compassion and love for our family. Their goal was the same as ours, which was treat our baby like a baby, make sure she wasn't in pain and to spend the time we had with Hai in our home and not a hospital. We can never thank those nurses enough for their support and love.”

“Joan and I are so moved by this important program that offers so much to the Essential Care children and families. We are both grateful and thrilled to be in a position to make this gift and establish this fund that will allow the program to grow and flourish for years to come,” stated Dave Rogers.

Dave Rogers is a co-founder of Life Storage, Inc. and serves as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. Joan Rogers is the proprietor of Patchwork Garden, a prominent local quilt and fabric shop. They reside in Clarence, NY.

“The Hospice Foundation is most grateful to both Dave and Joan for their extraordinary gift and willingness to invest so generously in our Essential Care program. So many seriously ill children and their family members will benefit from this magnificent gift for many years to come,” stated Patrick Flynn, President, Hospice Foundation of WNY, Inc.

Essential Care is available to children from infancy through adolescence that have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. The program cares for children who live in Erie and parts of Niagara, Genesee and Cattaraugus counties. In addition, the Essential Care team works with pediatricians at John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, and a variety of other pediatric clinics in our community. Referrals to the program come from physicians and other providers, but often it’s a family member or friend who refers a child to Essential Care.

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